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Welcome to the new hub of all things related to the Modern Classic YouTube channel! Yes, this is a real, official site, not some knockoff – I’ve just set it up, so if it looks a little threadbare right now, that’s why. I’ll be posting all new videos here (of course you can still watch them all through my channel itself) and anything else that’s not specifically a video – for example, news of new finds or hints at upcoming videos. Of course, my Patreon patrons will still get access to exclusives like behind the scenes looks and video previews, so as always I do encourage and appreciate your patronage!

Those of you who follow me here as opposed to just on YouTube saw my post a week or so ago about my discovery flight in a Cessna 172S. Well, I’ve now figured out a way to relate that back to the channel, and I’ve made a splitscreen comparison video between reality and Flight Simulator X!

This is a 12 year old game so naturally its graphics aren’t the most realistic, but it’s also been extended and added on to by the community to the point that it’s basically an entirely different game than when it was released. I have some of those add-ons, although I talk about a few in the video that I don’t have that could amp up the realism even more. So consider this just kind of a general, high level look at reality vs. sim, but I think it turned out pretty interesting.

So it feels like it’s been a while since my last video for the channel. Don’t worry, I’m not neglecting you guys! I do have a few things in the works, and in fact I just completed my first IBM Model M bolt mod… but that video’s still going to take a while longer, and I’d really like to post something about either another classic computer, video games, or another type of electronic product first.

I honestly am open to suggestions too for quickie vids that I can shoot, edit and post in the meantime – I’m always looking for quick video ideas but since I’m around this stuff so much, I probably overlook or just never consider subjects that you guys may be curious about.

If you’re at all interested in a part of what’s been taking up my time lately, here’s a little video I just cobbled together for my personal channel (where I post random stuff like this occasionally):

I make no money whatsoever from videos on my personal channel, but I just thought it was fun and want to share it.

The IBM Model F and Model M literally defined what a PC keyboard is supposed to be. Included with the original IBM PC, the Model F introduced the buckling spring mechanism that made it “the best keyboard in any microcomputer, bar none” according to Byte Magazine. The Model M, introduced shortly after the PC AT’s introduction and available as an option on both the AT and XT 286, set the standard for PC keyboard layouts for decades to come. Many have argued in favor of one or the other as “best keyboard ever” – so which one really is?

This is part 2 of my diagnosis, repair and restoration video on IBM’s “luggable” version of their PS/2, the P70. In this video I get the computer working again, solving several problems along the way, and then demo some of the software on the machine as displayed on its beautiful gas plasma screen. Yes, it’s a portable computer with a PLASMA screen!

Rail shooters have always been one of my favorite video game genres, with non-stop action and intense, focused gameplay. But you don’t see them all that often anymore. So in this video, I explain the basics of the rail shooter genre before presenting my picks for the top 10 rail shooters of all time, across platforms.

Watch me build an XT-IDE kit from Glitchworks designed to give modern storage options to the IBM PC (and XT), then test it out and hopefully get it running! The original PC and XT had an MFM storage interface and an 8 bit ISA bus; the IDE interface was only available for 16 bit ISA and later. This card adds the ability to use more modern options like flash storage to boot an original PC, which has the side benefit of allowing the download and loading of early PC software from a modern PC onto the 5150 and 5160.

Take a look at some of the stuff I’ve got going on or coming up. This video serves as both an update/future look at some videos in the pipeline, as well as a tie-up to a couple of the loose ends hanging around from previous videos I’ve done.

I’m starting a new series of quick gameplay videos, and #1 is the Sega Saturn and Treasure Games classic Radiant Silvergun. These videos will soon be on a regular schedule, once every week or two weeks – and there’s a good chance that they’ll eventually be live! But for now, they’ll be traditional uploaded videos.

This is the story of the first IBM PC – the computer that’s the original ancestor of one you probably still own. Today, nearly 40 years after its introduction, modern PC’s are used for everything from the kinds of business applications the system was originally designed for, to scientific work, to high-end gaming. But it all started back in 1981 with the IBM 5150.